An 83-year-old US Army veteran died after suffering a heart attack while riding a slow-moving train at a popular Disney World theme park.
Joseph Masters, who served for 23 years in the Army National Guard, was travelling onboard the PeopleMover, a mass transit system that provides a 10-minute tour of Tomorrowland inside the Magic Kingdom, on 25 September when he fell unconscious, according to a sheriff’s report.
The 83-year-old was riding the popular attraction alongside his wife, Alice, who told Florida Politics that she discovered her husband unconscious. After finding her husband unresponsive, the sheriff’s report detailed how she began to “panic” as she frantically sought to find help while still being buckled into the slow-moving ride.
“She began asking for help and attempted to contact family members who were at the Park. As the ride came to an end, park staffers and security responded to the scene where CPR was initiated,” the sheriff’s report said, according to MEAWW.
The veteran was then rushed to hospital, where doctors were reportedly able to keep him alive for another 30 minutes before they pronounced him dead at approximately 5pm.
Doctors determined that Masters’ “had a large blockage of an artery, near the right side of his heart” after saying that his death was natural.
“It was later learned Joseph had a pacemaker implanted and was diagnosed with an extensive list of medical conditions, including diabetes and hypertension,” the sheriff’s report said. “Joseph’s death was deemed natural given the aforementioned circumstances.”
The Tomorrowland attraction at Magic Kingdom is described on its site as being a “mass transit system of the future”, as it accelerates magnetically using linear induction motors.
Condolences for the deceased army veteran began pouring in online, where groups like the Palm Coast Volunteer Fire Rescue described the 83-year-old as a “kind” man who would be “forever missed”.
“This morning we joined our department in saying goodbye to Captain Joe Masters,” the group wrote in a message shared on Facebook on 6 October. “We are forever grateful for his six decades of service to the fire service, and twenty years here in Palm Coast. Joe was one of a kind, he was a kind-hearted soul through and through. He will be forever missed.”
For the 83-year-old’s wife, who spent nearly half a century being his partner, she said that he couldn’t have found a happier final resting place, as “he loved Disney”.
“I tell everybody now that my husband died in his happy place because he loved Disney,” she said, according to MEAWW.
